Fairy tale For the Modern Day Little Girls

Fairytales are the biggest deceivers of them all,and these are the greatest liesthat we have been telling our daughtersfrom when they are so very small.

Because when girls grow up they realisethat not a single one of those fairy tales are trueso instead the tales I will tell my children are goingto be made of these antiquated stories made brand new.

I’m going to tell them about Red Riding Hoodnever stopping to speak to any forest creatureand reached her grandmother’s housejust in time to take an axe to the neck of the big bad wolf.

And about how Snow White would have been killedhad she not learnt self defence from her father’s soldiersand known how to go for the eyes, the nose, the throatwhen the huntsman had grabbed her wrist to force her closer to him.

And about how Cinderella did not let her step motherget away with treating her like she was a servant in her own homeinstead she visited the best lawyer in town andgot the witch and both her girls thrown out, all on her own.

I’m going to teach them about how wrongthe Prince was to try and kiss Aurora in her sleepbecause consent is the most important thingand how she slapped his face instead of wept in relief.

And Alice, dear Alice who went into Wonderlandso completely unprepared, was stupid to bedrinking potions that could be poisonEating cakes that could have killed her then and there.

What kind of lessons would they learn if I told thembeing irresponsible and ‘having an adventure’was more important that being a good, strongsensible human being?

What kind of a person would I be if I let them thinksuch behaviour wouldn’t lead them to betaken for granted, taken advantage of,or a much worse fate that I cannot see?

Because the biggest truth about fairy talesis that they lie to little girls aboutalways being sugar and spiceand they will get a prince if they play dumb and nice.

The fairy tales we should tell our daughtersshould be about strong women with real flaws,immense amounts of courageand incredible qualities.

Let us raise girls who don’t just wait to be rescued,but take their destiny in their own hands,pick up swords and weapons of their ownand charge to battle dragons and their enemies